Place back over heat. Once simmering, reduce heat to low for 2 minutes, remove from heat and set aside.

Pour the prune sauce over each mushroom (leave some sauce to serve on rice) and bake for 30-40 minutes.

Basmati rice

Place the rice in a large bowl and fill with water. Stir the rice, the water will go cloudy. Once you've stirred for a minute, pour off the water. Repeat this washing process until the water runs clear. Usually, this takes 3 or 4 times.

Fill up the bowl 1 more time and let the rice soak for 30 minutes.

Drain the rice. Fill a medium saucepan with 1¾ cups water, add a pinch of salt, and bring to a boil.

Add the rice, stir, and wait until the water comes back to a full boil. When it does, turn the heat down as low as it can go, and then cover. Cook for 15 minutes.

At the end of 15 minutes, turn of the heat. Let the rice sit for 5 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork.

Serve the mushrooms on top of basmati rice, drizzle with the left over prune sauce and top it with orange slices, spring onions and cilantro.

Finally is spring and in Cyprus we have the opportunity to use zucchinis flowers or “anthous”! “Anthoi” is a very well know food in Cyprus, either stuffed with rice, tomato and herbs or fried. Its a “mamadistiko” mama’s food. It is always best to pick them up in the morning when the flowers are open.

Our version of “anthous” with vegan cheese in combination with sun dried tomatoes, herbs and tomato sauce gives the recipe a unique mediterranean taste. Use the blossoms as soon as possible after picking, as they will wilt within a day or store them in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.

These fantastic summer recipe is ideal to impress your guests. They can be served as an appetizer or as a main course. Natasa loves these recipe and we hope you will love it as well because is nutritious, protein rich and super delicious.

Wash the flowers individually, removing any external green leaves, using a sharp knife. Care to handle them gently. Drain the water and place the bottom of each blossom into the opening of another to prevent from closing, and set aside to drain thoroughly. Pat dry before using.

In a pan add 3-4 tablespoons olive oil. Add chopped onions, zucchinis, sauté for a couple of minutes until softened and golden. Set aside.

Carefully fill each flower with 1-2 teaspoons of the “Cream cheese” filling. Fold the open end of the flowers inward and turn underneath to enclose it and prevent the filling from escaping during baking. Arrange the stuffed flowers in the baking pan, one firmly packed next to the other, until the pan is covered in a single layer.

Pour the tomato sauce to cover the flowers, drizzle with olive oil, and bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 30-40 min until golden. Serve warm or at room temperature with Vegan tzatziki dip.

These are Greek vegan “meatballs” made with potatoes & walnuts, in a rich and spicy tomato sauce. Here is a simple vegan recipe, based on the traditional way of making delicious Soutzoukakia. They are lovely, nutritious and delicious. So yummy!

In the meantime, make the sauce by adding into a saucepan the chopped sweet chili, rice vinegar, sesame oil, soya sauce, mince garlic, minced ginger, coconut sugar and bring to a boil over high heat, simmer for 5 minutes. Dissolve the cornstarch in the ⅔ cup off water and stir it in the saucepan, and continue to simmer one more minute.

Place a large frying pan over a medium heat and add 3 to 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Once the oil is hot, carefully lower in heaped tablespoons of the mixture and flatten them out into little patties.

Fry for 2 to 3 minutes, then flip and fry on the other side for 2 more minutes. When the patties are ready set aside.

Divide the noodles between two serving bowls pour 3-4 patties on each bowl and top with peppers, fresh onions, cucumber slices, fresh chili slices, fresh cilantro and last add some of the sweet chili sauce (up to taste).

Peel the potatoes and cut into cubes. Place potatoes in a large saucepan, Chop the leeks add them to the potatoes and cover with hot water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, add 1 tsp of sea salt, vegetable broth, cover and cook for 25-30 minutes or until very tender.

Once tender, drain your potatoes and place them back in the hot pot off the heat for 1 minute to evaporate any additional water. Then transfer to a large mixing bowl.

Finely chop the onion. Add olive oil to a large saucepan over medium heat. Then add onion and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until the onions are caramelized. Add 2 tablespoons of carob syrup, stir well, remove the onions from pan and set aside.

Cut the mushrooms into long strips. Add the mushrooms in the large saucepan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and cook for about 2-3 minutes, add the cooked onions bay leafs, thyme, garlic, ginger, the rest of the carob syrup, salt, pepper and water.

Lower heat for about 15 minutes and cover with the lid.

Slice the peppers into thin strips and the carrot into long sticks. When the mushrooms are ready add the peppers and carrots in the saucepan and cook for one minute.

Dissolve the corn flour in 4 tablespoons of water and pour into the pan. Stir well, cook for another one minute. Set aside.

Cut the vegetables lengthwise into thin slices and put first the eggplants on baking sheet.

Brush both sides with a little olive oil and sprinkle oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Bake for 10 minutes and set aside.

Place zucchinis and mushrooms in baking sheet drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper and bake for 10 minutes.

In a blender put all the ingredients for the tomato sauce, mix well and set aside.

Put the milk and the remaining ingredients of Béchamel in a large skillet, bring in to boil, whisk until it bubbles, then reduce heat to low and cook until thickened, stirring frequently.

To assemble:

In an ovenproof dish arrange the eggplants slices across its base and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of breadcrumbs. Then layer the zucchinis and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of breadcrumbs.

Finally layer the mushrooms with the remaining eggplants and sprinkle with breadcrumbs (save some breadcrumbs for topping).

Pour the tomato sauce over the vegetables and last pour béchamel sauce.

Top it with the remaining breadcrumbs.

In a pre-heated oven bake for 35 minutes to 180°C and then another 5 minutes until golden brown.

Remove from oven. Allow to cool for at least 1 hour.

Cut into pieces, serve and enjoy!

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WINE SUGGESTION

With this vegan version of Moussaka used alternative ingredients to create the classic flavors that will melt in your mouth, make you feel that will leave you wanting more. The Eggplant is such a filling and versatile vegetable and because it’s slightly sweeter, it gives added depth to dishes. For this recipe especially in wintertime I would crave a Woodsy Pinot noir from Burgundy, which enjoys such ingredients and will explode all the flavors in your mouth.

Trust me you will want an extra glass to congratulate yourself along with this super healthy & delicious meal.

Whether you are a vegan, vegetarian or even a meat-lover, vegan balls are a very nutritious and healthy option to include in your diet. You can have them for lunch or dinner with rice, pasta, salad, noodles, or rub into tortillas with salad and veggies. This tasty recipe will not disappoint anyone.

Place them in a big bowl, add all the ingredients, mixed them well and put them in fridge for 1 hour.

Shape the mixture in small patties.

In a nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat, and pan-fry patties about 3-4 minutes on each side, until become golden brown and crispy.

Add more olive oil to the skillet as needed.

SAUCE

Cut the fresh onion in thin slices.

In a small pan add the onions and sautéed with 1-tablespoon olive oil. Then add all the ingredients except Tapioca or corn flour starch.

Once the sauce is boiled, add the dissolve tapioca or corn flour starch and mix well for 1 minute. Remove from heat.

Garnish the veggie balls with the sauce and serve with wild rice.

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WINE SUGGESTION

There’s a popular saying that “red wine goes with meat and white wine goes with fish, or white meats”. Although this may be generic, what happens when you take a focus on vegetables; Grapes, just like vegetables, come from Mother Earth and one is made for the other. We just have to take in consideration Fat, acidity, body, sweetness, tartness, and flavor. The key component to the perfect pairing is simply matching the food’s qualities with the wine’s characteristics and relying on what tastes good to you. Therefore a winning combination for this wonderful recipe unoaked Chardonnay with crunchy acidity, minerals, and slight sweetness cuts through the spiciness and tangos with the coconut sauce and the vegetables.

I am very proud to introduce you this mouth watering recipe! Mushrooms are a great source of plant based protein and the great thing about this plate is that its vegan, gluten free and super yummy! You will need some preparation in advance with soaking the cashews but it is essential for achieving this creamy texture. If you don’t have the time to do the soaking, don’t worry, we won’t tell anyone!

You can serve this plate as a starter to impress your quests or even as main dish accompanied with your favorite salad. Give it a try and be reassured that you cannot go wrong with this!

Add cashews, water, garlic, salt and pepper in the blender and blend scraping down sides as necessary, until smooth and creamy.

Fill the mushrooms with cashew cream and drizzle with olive oil.

Add some poppy seeds to each mushroom and bake at 180c for 20 minutes.

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WINE SUGGESTION

When the autumn nights start to turn chilly, you will love to enjoy savory mushroom dishes to pair with red wines. Red wine and mushrooms are a unique marriage of complex flavors; this recipe with the portobello mushroom brings out the meaty quality of a steak so it can be paired with almost any robust red such as Zinfandel, Syrah/Shiraz and believe me you will find that the flavors in both complement each other beautifully and in great harmony.